A Superior Court judge on April 14 refused to dismiss a sexual assault charge against a Catholic priest who was removed from the ministry by the Providence Diocese.
Judge Luis Matos rejected a request by Kevin Fisette, 70, of Dayville, Connecticut., to drop the first-degree sexual assault charge against him for allegedly abusing a 13-year-old boy between 1981 and 1982 in Burrillville.
Fisette had alleged that the state violated his due process rights.
Matos said in his bench ruling he found no evidence that the state attorney general’s office had acted in “bad faith” in its handling of the case.
He dismissed as speculative arguments that mental-health records related to his accuser that have since been destroyed would have bolstered his case.
Fisette’s lawyer, J. Richard Ratcliffe, declined comment following the judge’s ruling. Fisette, who said nothing in court, is also being represented by Craig V. Montecalvo.
Sexual assault charge resurfaces in 2022
Central to Fisette’s arguments was a 2009 decision by then prosecutor George Page not to bring the allegations before a grand jury, putting the charge to bed at the time.
The case received renewed attention when Attorney General Peter F. Neronha took office, promising a review of the Catholic clergy abuse scandal.
In May 2022, a grand jury indicted Fisette on one count of first-degree sexual assault.
The indictment alleged that Fisette sexually abused the teen while Fisette was assigned as a deacon to Our Lady of Victory Church in the Ashaway area of Hopkinton. He was released on $50,000 personal recognizance.
Fisette faces 'credible allegations'
Fisette was pastor at the St. Leo the Great Church in Pawtucket when a "credible allegation" was reported to state police in 2009, according to Providence Journal archives.
He was removed from the ministry and in 2019 was placed on the list of credibly accused priests.
The attorney general's office declined to prosecute the case in 2009, citing no evidence of force or coercion and that there was "insufficient credible evidence of concealment or surprise," as well as inconsistencies in the alleged victim's statements and questions about his ability to recall events from decades earlier.
State police Capt. David Neill told The Journal at the time that investigators thought the case was viable.
What changed in the case?
Prosecutors reported at Fisette’s arraignment years later that he had abused a 13-year-old. They said the case had been strengthened by testimony from then Bishop Thomas Tobin and Monsignor John Darcy about "damning" admissions Fisette made to them.
Other new evidence included emails between Fisette and the teen that constitute an admission of guilt, as well as statements he made to the state police that implicated him, according to prosecutors.
The case is being prosecuted by Timothy G. Healy and Jonathan Burke.
Scathing report on clergy scandal
Neronha recently released a scathing report on the alleged sexual abuse of at least 315 children by 75 Catholic clergy members.
The findings detail the lengths Rhode Island's Catholic leaders went to mask the magnitude of the scandal.
You can read the full report here.